


I Should Tell You

by RetroactiveCon



Series: Praying That It'll Be You [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Past Hartley Rathaway/Eobard Thawne | Harrison Wells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21675073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroactiveCon/pseuds/RetroactiveCon
Summary: “Do you often visit your captives when you feel out of place with your team?”To his surprise, Barry nods. “My dad is in prison,” he explains. “I know what isolation can do to someone. It might not be safe to let you or the others out of your cells, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to just leave you with no human contact.”Unexpected pity tightens Hartley’s chest. Barry is so radiantly kind that it’s almost painful to witness. Someone is going to hurt him—shatter him, if Hartley is honest with himself—and when they do, Barry won’t seek vengeance the way Hartley did. He’ll try to understand and fall short, because there’s no way he could ever comprehend that some people simply revel in inflicting pain.
Series: Praying That It'll Be You [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562548
Comments: 6
Kudos: 108





	I Should Tell You

Hartley hears about the rescue of Ronnie Raymond only after it happens. It’s Barry, the precious little CSI, who brings the news. He walks as though he’s in pain. 

“What happened?” Were it one of the others, Hartley might have to resist the urge to smirk. Since it’s Barry, who has been nothing but sweet to him, he feels no such urge. “Was Ronnie unwilling to be found?”

Barry shrugs. “I guess.” 

Hartley gives him a deliberate once-over. His gaze lingers on Barry’s neck, where inflamed circles of skin suggest multiple puncture wounds. Barry raises a hand to cover them. “Oh. There was this general—Eiling, I think—who wanted Ronnie and Dr. Stein. When we wouldn’t give them up, he took Dr. Stein by force.” 

“Eiling?” Hartley asks derisively. He remembers the general—a short-tempered, unpleasant man who was experimenting on a gorilla. “Let me guess: he wanted to use the FIRESTORM matrix as a weapon.”

Barry nods. “This isn’t the first time he’s tried to take a metahuman and turn them into a weapon. At least Dr. Stein was lucky enough to get out alive.” 

“I’m glad.” Hartley manages a small smile. He’d known Dr. Stein during his time at STAR Labs; they hadn’t been close, but they had a degree of mutual respect. Had he died, the world would have lost a powerful mind. “I would say pass my well-wishes on to him, but that would mean informing him that I’m a prisoner in an antiproton cavity, and I would guess you don’t want to do that.” 

Barry tilts his head. “You helped us rescue him. You’re not going to bargain for a chance to see him and Ronnie?”

Wherever they are, Wells is likely with them. Hartley isn’t yet strong enough to face him without attempting to kill him or breaking down. “I suspect I’m the last person either of them wishes to see. Why are you here instead of with them?”

He has the pleasure of watching Barry turn shy, his inquisitive gaze flitting away and his shoulders curling in. “I feel like an intruder,” he admits. “Caitlin and Cisco are so happy to have Ronnie back, and Dr. Stein is…”

“Intimidating?” Hartley ventures. That had been his estimate of Stein as well, and time had not disproved it. 

Barry nods. “A little.” 

There’s no doubt in Hartley’s mind that Dr. Stein would enjoy Barry’s company. He disdains the false and the ignorant; Barry’s keen mind and sincerity would endear him to Stein in minutes. Still, if Barry wants to stay, he won’t complain. “Do you often visit your captives when you feel out of place with your team?” 

To his surprise, Barry nods. “My dad is in prison,” he explains. “I know what isolation can do to someone. It might not be safe to let you or the others out of your cells, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to just leave you with no human contact.”

Unexpected pity tightens Hartley’s chest. Barry is so radiantly kind that it’s almost painful to witness. Someone is going to hurt him—shatter him, if Hartley is honest with himself—and when they do, Barry won’t seek vengeance the way Hartley did. He’ll try to understand and fall short, because there’s no way he could ever comprehend that some people simply revel in inflicting pain. 

“You don’t think we’re monstrous enough to deserve it?”

Barry rocks side to side. “I don’t visit Kyle Nimbus,” he confesses. “He was a killer before he was a meta, and I don’t know that there’s any way to get through to him. But the rest of you? No. You’re criminals, but I don’t think you’re irredeemable.” 

“Then you’re not just stupid, you’re willfully ignorant.” It’s harsh, but Hartley has to make him understand. “Nobody changes that much, Barry. Pretending they do will get you killed.” 

“You did,” Barry says simply. 

“I’m an opportunist,” Hartley corrects. “It does me no good to be in this cell.”

“You saved Cisco and Caitlin from that Time Wraith. You helped us find Ronnie and Dr. Stein. You could have run at any time when we let you out of your cell, but you didn’t.” Barry smiles. “I don’t think you’re an opportunist. I think you were hurt and lashing out, and now…maybe you’re not?” 

A threat springs to Hartley’s lips. He doesn’t utter a word. It’s not in his nature to make empty threats. Although he would like to make Barry understand, there’s no way he could harm him just to prove a point.

(The Hartley of two months ago would have done it in a heartbeat. He doesn’t know whether it says more about him or Barry that such an idea is unthinkable now.) 

“Mr. Allen.” Barry jumps. Hartley retreats into a corner of his cell, only half-aware of doing so. “Ronnie Raymond and Dr. Stein have been inquiring after you. Why deprive them of your company?”

Barry twists his hands. His entire demeanor changes the moment Wells speaks, every line of his body re-orienting itself. He’s helplessly ensnared, just as Hartley had once been. Hartley can’t tell if the nausea rising in him is jealousy or fear. “Hartley helped us find them. I thought he deserved to know…”

Wells’ eyes flick past Barry to land on Hartley, inscrutable but radiating control. With an effort, Hartley doesn’t flinch. “Thoughtful of you, Mr. Allen, but perhaps not the best use of your time. Hartley will still be here once Ronnie and Dr. Stein have left.” 

Barry turns back just long enough to give Hartley a soft, apologetic smile. Hartley doesn’t respond. Let him leave discouraged; enough disappointment and he might not return. 

Wells lingers after Barry has left. When he speaks, it’s barely a murmur. Hartley struggles to hear him; the microphones will be unable to pick it up. “You would be well-advised to leave him alone, Mr. Rathaway. Should you be…indiscreet…” Hartley balls his hands into fists. “Believe me when I say no one will mourn your passing.” 

“Have you given up the pretext, Harrison?” His voice shakes. He bites down on his tongue, lets the pain ground him, and tries again. “No more show of apologies? No more pretending I was ever more than a pawn to you?”

Wells shakes his head. Louder, so that the microphones can hear, he says, “There was never any pretext, Hartley. I’m sorry you refuse to see that.” 

Hartley almost blurts something foolish. Thankfully, Wells touches a screen and the protective door slides closed. As the antiproton cavity slides back to its place, Hartley sinks down against the wall. It’s only when the motion of his cell stops that he realizes he’s shaking. He manages a hollow laugh, unable to forget Barry’s foolish insistence that he’s changed. As long as Harrison Wells is alive—as long as Hartley is at his mercy—he can’t allow himself to change.


End file.
